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Guest kelly324

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Guest kelly324

Hello everyone, my name is Kelly and I am 13 years old.

I will be turning 14 on the 14th August (so less than a week) and I have decided it's time to find out whether or not I have OCD. I recently made a forum post asking for opinions but I was told to see a doctor. The thing is, I don't want my family finding out. I just want to know, what happens when a doctor tests if you have OCD? Is it a blood test? Do they give you a questionnaire? 
Please can you let me know what happens as I am quite worried.

 

Thank you! <3

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Hi Kelly.

Firstly, happy birthday for Sunday! My birthday is also the 14th August (although I'm a little bit older than you - I'll be turning 28 :lol:).

When you go to the doctor about OCD or any other anxiety disorder they will ask you about your symptoms. So be sure to tell them all about the thoughts you've been having as well as the compulsions you've been doing. Make sure to mention how anxious and upset it's made you feel. Often your doctor will be able to diagnose you as having OCD just based on what you tell them because OCD is very distinctive. Other times they might refer you to a psychologist/psychiatrist to get a better diagnosis, but I wouldn't worry if you get referred as that just usually means your doctor doesn't know a lot about OCD and would prefer for you to be seen by an expert - this is what happened in my case.

Your doctor won't be allowed to disclose anything to your family about your diagnosis without your consent as they have to be confidential. However it's generally better for your own wellbeing to have your family involved so they can support you. Is there a specific reason why you don't want your family to find out? I can understand you might be worried about what they might think or feel embarrassed and ashamed. I certainly kept my own OCD hidden from my family throughout all of my childhood and teenage years, and only got round to telling them about it last year at the age of 26, and they were very upset to hear that I'd been struggling for so long without them knowing about it. If you are worried about telling your family then it might be a good idea to speak to your doctor about it, and they could advise you on what to do.

But above all please don't worry about going to the doctor about OCD. It's a good thing that you want to get help and the sooner you get help, and especially because you are young as well, the sooner you can beat it. Good luck! :)

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Guest kelly324

Thank you! Happy Birthday to you to :)

I don't want my parents finding out because I don't want them to worry about me and it's a bit embarrassing to talk to them about things like this. When I was about 7 or 8 and I first started showing symptoms my older sister said to my Mum "She might have OCD" and my Mum said "Don't be stupid she doesn't have that". I know my Mum didn't mean anything bad by it but it has sort of put me off telling her. I'm not 100% sure whether or not I want to go to the doctor because I'm still not very comfortable talking about it but I know it needs to get sorted out. 

Thank you for helping me <3 :) 

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I can understand how you feel. My mum was the same when I was younger, "OCD? Don't be silly of course you don't have OCD!" I realise now though that she was being dismissive because really she was just concerned about me.

The thing is family will worry about you even if there's nothing wrong with you at all, and if your family are like mine they would just want you to be happy, and if they knew that you really were struggling with OCD they would be upset that they didn't know about it. Having said that though I can understand why you feel the way you do. I think the most important thing for you right now is to go to the doctors. Family stuff can wait! :)

Do let us know how you get on. And you're welcome! 

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I'm 17 and I had a similar problem. What I did is I told my mom I was having worries/ anxiety and then she took my to get diagnosed. I never had to tell her my specific thoughts, so that was good. And I know it can be scary talking to a doctor about this stuff, but believe me, they've heard it all before and won't judge you

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  • 1 year later...

You have already taken the first step to conquering anything that is bothering you - by acknowledging it. Well done. The professionals involved in OCD will not judge you no matter what you say and you will feel safe speaking to them. 

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